Grinding machinery



Aug. 26, 1930; w, BI NS 1,773,937

I GRINDING MACHINERY Filed Dec. 10, 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 6 6e0/ye%5z)//7 Wgm attain;

Aug. 26, 1930. 7 G. w. BINNS GRINDING MACHINERY Filed Dec. 10, 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 MMM 1 1X .9 2 1 5. v k or x I u 1 Patented Aug. 26, 1930 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE GEORGE W. BINNS, OF CINCINNATI, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO CINCINNATI GRINDERS IN- CORPORATED, OF CINCINNATI, OHIO, A CORPORATION OI OHIO GRINDING MACHINERY Application filed December 10, 1927. Serial No. 239,058.

This inventionrelates to improvements in centerless grinders and has for its principle object the increase in productivit of such machines when operation upon wor which cannot be axially fed therethrough.

' A further object of the invention is the provision of mechanism which shall make possible substantially continuous grinding and which shall reduce to a minimum'the dem lay ordinarily occasioned by introduction and removal of work pieces when such grinders are operated in accordance with what is commonly termed the in-feed principle. 7

A further object of the invention is the prom vision of a novel improved means for supplying work to a centerless grinder and supporting the work during the grinding operation.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention should be readily apparent by J referring to the following specification taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, and it is to be understood that I may make any modifications in the specific structural details hereinafter described within the scope of the appended ciaims without departing from or exceeding the spirit of the invention.

Figure 1 is a front elevation of a machine embodying this invention. a

Figure 2 is a plan view partially in elevation and partially in section thereof.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary vertical sectional during grinding.

Figure 4 is a section on line 4-4 of Figure 3.

Figure 5 is a fragmentary sectional view showing the feed drum, work and related parts, and

Figure 6 is a fragmentary sectional view showing the position of the work prior to the grinding thereof. 4

In the drawings in which similar characters of reference are employed to denote corre- 45 spending parts throughout the several views,

I The regulating wheelf,

View illustrating the posltion of the work 1 modern two wheel centerless grinder.

the numeral 10 designates the bed of a grinding machine having the slide 11 rotatably supporting the spindle 12 of grinding wheel 13. This wheel is suitably operated at a high or grinding rate of speed and in a clockwise direction as viewed from the front. A suitable truing device 14 mounted on the bed adjacent the periphery of the wheel serves to preserve proper shape thereon.

Disposed on the bed 10 in oppositionto the head 11 is a slideway 15 supporting the regu lating wheel slide 16 in which is journaled the spindle 17 for the regulating wheel 18. it will be understood, is preferably formed rom a suitable abrasive material and is likewise rotated in a clockwise direction .so that its surface adjacent the grinding wheel, goes upwardly while the grinding wheel surface moves downwardly. The regulating wheel however is operated at a slow rate of speed and so serves to frictionally engage the work with a moving friction surface which will grip the work and cause the work surface speed to be the same as the surface speed of theregulating wheel. Suitable adjusting means such as the screw 36 and hand wheel may be employed to impart in and out movement to the regulating wheel and thus to control the engagement of the regulating wheel with the work.

The general arrangement of opposed grinding and regulating wheels above referred to is that customarily employed in tpe n the production of work by previously known centerlessmethods, however, it has been customary to make use of a stationary work rest blade disposed to position the work in the grinding throat between the wheels, the work either passing axiallythrough the machine or being suitably placed on .the fixed rest and subsequently removed therefromin what is known as the in-feed grinding process.

As distinguished from these it is the purpose of the present invention to provide an improved form of work controlling mechanism which shall make it possible to grind work pieces substantially continuously which have been hitherto producible only by in-feed grinding methods in which there have been considerable loss of grinding time due to the manner in which the work has been introduced to and removed from the grinding throat. 1

In the accomplishment of this result the bed is provided with bearings 19 and 20 for the spindle 21 of the Work feeding drum 22. This .drum is suitably rotated as by silent chain 23 positively controlling its rate of rotation and turns in a counter clockwise direst urges it into contact with-the drum as indicated by the position of the upper most work piece 28 in Figure 5.

The position of the work drum 22 is such that as it rotates the work supports 26 will pass downward in alinement with the throat aperture and with their portions 27vprojecting into said throat. Work pieces are suit ably manually or otherwise'placed on the individual work rests when the latter are in an upper position or substantially at the point indicated by the arrow 29 in Figure 1. The work piece will then rest on the drum in the space between the lower face 30 of one work rest bracket and the an led work rest portion of the adjacent brac et.

Rotation of the drum will then carry the work piece downwardly between the grinding and regulating wheels and subsequently well below to Y a position where the work piece will roll off its supporting blade into the dischar e chute 31. The bed is referably provide with a bracket 32 opened at the rear as at 33 so that coolant may drain back 'into the tank or reservoir normally provided within the bed. A suitable work receiving basket or the like 34 is removabl mounted on bracket 32 so that the workpieces may pile up in this basket while the coolant is properly drained therefrom and prevented from discharge on to;

the floor around the machine.

- It will be noted that the work carrying drum has been described as mounted in fixed position uponthe bed and in this event suitable adjusting screw 35 is provided for the grinding wheel slide 11 and a similar ad- 'usting screw36 for the regulatin wheel.

y manipulation of these wheels t e regulating wheel can be so placed as to slightly inwardlypress the end of the work piece between the wheels and obtain proper frictional engagement therewith while the grinding wheel is set at a proper distance from the regulating wheel so that at the proximate point on their peripheries the separation will be that of the diameter to be produced on the completed work piece to be produced.

It will be noted that the drum 22 has an end flange 37 provided with the adjustable terminal abutment 38 for engagemeptwith the outer or front end of the work piece. The work piece is shown as having an initial substantially cylindrical form designed to have a reduced end produced thereon as at 39. The

inner terminus as the work piece is intro- 1 duced will rest on the slightly raised portion 27 of the work rest blade and consequently the work piece will be urged against the abutment 38.

As the feeding drum is rotated the work piece will be brought into the narrowing grinding throat as shown in Figure 5. Consequently the grinding and regulating wheels will engage the inner projecting end of the work piece to form the'reduced terminal portion 39 which will gradually decrease in diameter as the axis of the work approaches the common center line of the grinding and regulating wheel spindles. During this grinding the work is free to move up and down on its angled support and therefore to be properly shaped and rounded up. The rate of movement of the feed drum is such as to insure each individual work piece remaining the proper time in grinding position. When the grinding is completed the Work axis will have dropped to a position substantially parallel with the work rest throughoutits length in place of being, slightly canted as when initially introduced in the machine.

Particular attention is invited to the fact that with the position and construction of the work carrying drum with its axis substantially in the common axial plane of the grinding and regulating wheels, but of larger diameter and eccentrically positioned with respect to the regulating wheel, certain pronounced advantages are accomplished. During the normal rotation of the drum the ,work rests on its periphery and is held above or out of engagement with the regulating wheel. As the work loosely resting on'the angled top work rest member is brought intothe throat between the grinding and regulating wheels the position of the periphery of the drum is such that the Work is first engaged by the regulating wheel tending to impart a rotating action thereto. In addition, the arc of movement of the .surface of the drum acts through the plane of the periphery of the regulating wheel, as indicated in Figure 5, in such manner that the body of the work in engagement with the surface of the drum' is allowed to recede relative to the regulating wheel substantially correspondin to the stock removal from the inner end 0 the work piece as itis decreased during the grinding action. 'The .work will tend to maintain a position parallel with the surface of the drum in place of being canted with respect thereto.

'At the same time, on account of the fact that the work rest has an outer portion for en-- pleted the work will be properly supported as to its ground and outer un-ground portions by the two heights of the Work rest,

while the regulating wheel will support and engage the inner reduced end and the drum in its receding position Will properly back and position the body of the Work.

As the work pieces are automatically discharged by gravity subsequent to their grinding, and as the work carrying drum is continuously rotating and presenting new work in grinding position, the grinding itself is substantially continuous. Also the only attention required by the operator is the loading of work pieces into position 011 the feed drum and occasional slight adjustment of the wheels to take up their wear during machine and minimum idle or non grinding time.

I claim:

1. A centerless grinder including a grinding wheel operating at a high grinding rate of speed and an opposed regulating Wheel having its operative surface. adjacent the grinding wheel moving in a direction opposite to the direction of movement of the grinding Wheel surface and at a relatively slow rate of speed to frictionally engage and control the rateof rotation of a work piece, said wheels forming a progressively narrowing grinding throat therebetween, and a' rotatable work feeding drum disposed adjacent one of said wheels and having work supportin g portions laterally projecting in the direction of said wheels, said parts being so related that the work supporting portions will extend into the grinding throat for support of a work piece during operation of the machine thereon.

2. A centerless grinder including a grinding wheel operating at a high grinding rate of speed and an opposed regulating wheel. having its operative surface adjacent the grinding wheel moving in a direction opposite to the direction of movement of the grinding wheel surface and at a relatively slow rate of speed to frictionally engage and control the rate of rotation of a work piece, said wheels forming a progressively narrowing grinding throat therebetween, and a rotatable work feeding drum disposed adjacent 'one' of said wheels and having work supporting portions laterally projecting in the direction of said wheels, said parts being so related that the work supporting portions will extend into the grinding throat for support of a work piece during operation of the machine thereon, and means for controlling the rotation of the drum for successive presentation of individual work pieces.

3. A centerless grinder including a grinding wheel operable at a high grinding rate of speed and a regulating Wheel operable at a Work controlling rate of speed, said wheels being disposed in peripheral opposition one to the other and spaced to provide agrinding throat therebetween, and a rotatable Work supporting drum adjacent one of said wheels having laterally projecting work supports successively presentable in the throat between the grinding and regulating wheels and having additional means for supporting a work piece exteriorly of said grinding throat.

4. A centerless grinder including a grinding Wheel operable at a high grinding rate of speed and a regulating Wheel operable at a work cont-rolling rate of speed, sa d wheels being disposed in peripheral opposition ne to the other and spaced to provide a grinding throat therebetween, and a rotatable work supporting drum adjacent one of said Wheels having lateral work supports successively presentable in the throat between the grind- .ing and regulating wheels and having additional means for supporting a work piece eX- teriorly of said grinding throat, and means on the drum for axially positioning a work piece with respect thereto.

5. A machine for centerless grinding of selected portions of a series of work pieces including opposed grinding and regulat ng Wheels forming a progressively narrow ng throat therebetween, and a feed drum adjacent said Wheels having means having a work supporting surface forming with the adjacent surface of the drum, an acute included angle whereby a work supporting trough is provided for exteriorly supporting a work piece ada j acent said grinding throat and having means projecting within the grinding throat for supporting individual work pieces as they traverse said throat whereby said pieces are successively presented in operative relation to the grinding Wheel while their rotation is efiected by the engagement of the regulating wheel therewith. Y K 6. A centerless grinder including peripherally opposed grinding 'and regulating Wheels forming a progressively narrowing throat therebetween, an angle top work rest having a portion adapted to project and support a work piece within said grinding throat, and means for shifting said rest in an arcuate path tocarry a work piece into and through the convergent portion of the grinding throat. 7. A centerless grinder including a pair of peripherally opposed wheels rotatable in the same direction about their axes whereby their adjacent portions move in opposite directions, one of said wheels being rotatable at a high grinding rate of speed and the other of said wheels being rotatable at a slow work controlling rate, a work support having a portion projectable between the opposed faces of the wheels, and means for advancing the work support substantially c1rcum-' ferentially of one of the wheels through the axial lane of said wheels whereby work car- 'ried y the work support will be shifted through the space between the opposed peripheries of the wheels and reduced to a diameter equal to the separation of said wheels. 8. A centerless grinder including opposed grinding and regulating wheels spaced to provide a work receiving throat therebetween,

' and means for successively presenting work pieces into the grinding throat between the opposed portions of said wheels including a rotary carrier having a plurahty of work supporting rests movable in a path circumscribing one ofsaidwheels, said rests each having a work supporting portion pro ectlng laterally for disposition within the throat during grinding of the individual work pieces supported thereby.

9. In a device of the class described the 4 combination of a grinding wheel, an opposed regulating wheel, the grindingwheel and regulating wheel having a way between them,

a rotatable work support adapted vto support a plurality of work pieces and succes s1vely pass a portion of each work piece through the way between the grinding and regulating wheels and means carried by the work support axially limiting the outward movement of each work piece while passing through the way between the grinding and regulating wheels.

10. In a device of the class described the combination with a grinding wheel and an opposed regulating wheel having a way be tween them, a rotatably mounted drum, a plurality of supports formed on the drum, each support having an inclined surface adapted to support a work piece and pass a portion of said work piece through the way etween the grinding and regulating wheels asthe drum is rotated, a peripheral flange carried by the drum, and adjustable means combination of three rotatably mounted members having their axes in the same horizontal plane and rotatable in parallel vertical planes, two of the members comprising a grinding wheel and an opposed re ulating wheel enclosing a grinding throat etween them, the remaining member being a drum having a plurallty of supports thereon for supporting a plurality of work pieces and successively passing the work pieces through the grinding throat.

12. In a device of the class described the combination of a grinding wheel, an opposed regulating wheel and a drum having their axes in a horizontal plane and rotating in parallel vertical planes, the grinding and regulating wheels having a progressively narrowing throat between them, and a plurality of inclined rests carried by the drum for supporting a plurality of work pieces and successively passing said ieces through the throat between the grinding and regulating wheels.

13. A machine for the terminalgrindin of work pieces includin a grinding whee operable at a high' grinding rate of speed, a eripherally opposed regulating wheel operale at a slow work controlling rate of speed,

and a rotatable work carrier disposed adja- I vcent the regulating wheel and of greater diameter than said wheel said, work carrier having its proximate portion at the grinding throat disposed more distant from the plane of the grinding wheel than the proxlnrate surface of the regulating wheel, supporting members for perlpheral engagement with a I plurality of work pieces mounted on said work carrier, and having portions disposed in opposition to the surface of the carrier .for supporting the body of the workpiece and additional ortions projecting laterally into the throat between grinding and re ulatin wheels to support the portions of te wor being operated upon at said throat.

14. A machine for the terminal grinding of work pieces including a grinding wheel operable at a high grinding rate of speed, a peripherally opposed regulating wheel operable at a slow work controlling rate of speed, and a rotatable work carrier disposed for supporting th'e body' of the work piece and additional portions projecting laterally into the throat between grinding and regulating wheels to support the portlons of work being operated upon at said throat and disposed in a plane above the plane of the body portion, whereby said inner projection will properly support the terminally reduced end of the work piece as the grinding thereof is completed.

In test mony whereof I aifii my signature.

GEORGE. W. BINNS. 

